The trip began as soon as we arrived in Miami on March 28th. The shock of being in that much civilization made us want to leave as soon as we reprovisioned. On the 30th we had sailed south and were anchored off Pumpkin Key near Key Largo. We motored and sailed to Sunset Cove and went ashore for dinner at Snook’s (not bad, but pricey -welcome to the Keys.) Next day we stopped at Buttonwood Sound off Islamorada and had after dinner drinks at Loralei’s. A very good guitar-playing singer entertained us with oldies and very oldies and many couples joined us dancing. This was a fun night out.
On the 2nd of April we reached Marathon and elected to round the point and enter the harbor from the west instead of using Sister Creek because the wind produced a swell that may have had us bouncing the bottom as we entered the creek. When Richard on Tisha Baby reported depths of just four feet we knew we had decided correctly (we draw 4 1/3 ft.) We stayed in Marathon exactly one month.
We had planned to leave the boat on a mooring and surprise my Dad by flying to DC and then going to see him on his birthday on April 14th, but he surprised us by falling and breaking his hip a week before we got to Marathon. I booked a flight for the 5th and Dad had surgery the same day. Barb stayed with the boat. When I got to Springfield that evening brother Tom picked me up at the Metro Station. He and Vickie had arrived from North Carolina the day before. Mom and Vickie were at home at the apartment at Greenspring Village. We poked our heads in Dad’s room to find him sleeping. The nurse said he was recovering okay after surgery so we left. We all (Larry came from DC) saw the doctor the next day and he had written orders to have Dad standing on Sunday(!), but not to expect that to really happen because the PT department is not well staffed on the weekend (there should be a weekend discount then – right?) and that Monday would be a good day to start standing. Meanwhile, Dad was not eating and Mom was worrying. He was still on an I.V. so he was getting fluids and some calories. He didn’t seem to be in pain, but the nurse gave him some pain medication for sleep and the next day Dad was seeing things and talking to people that weren’t there. Luckily, midweek the doctor released him to the skilled nursing facility at Greenspring and we were all happy to see the ambulance arrive five minutes early to make the transfer. I was not impressed with the care at the hospital. They seemed to be interested in mission statements and customer satisfaction instead of basic patient care. It seemed that there were more visits from many staff telling us that Dad was getting good care than there were visits from staff actually giving good care. Giving a man pain medication when he didn’t ask for it isn’t good care. Putting a tray of food on a bedside table out of reach of a man who cannot see what it is and who has dexterity and speech deficits from a previous stroke so he can’t fill a spoon to feed himself lying in bed isn’t good care. We had to struggle at times to understand what was being said by most of the staff. PT never visited him and so he never got out of bed at the hospital. He got through it, however, and Dad arrived at Greenspring’s Renaissance Gardens in one piece. But, he was still seeing and talking to things that weren’t there and we were all concerned. Betsy and Leona arrived from Maine and we all took turns staying with Dad throughout most of everyday leaving him alone to sleep at night. He was actually “working” harder with us there than with his regular routine before the fall. He almost always took a good nap in the afternoons before and he was not doing that now. Now he was getting physical and occupational therapies, eating three meals in the dining room and pretty good overall care. With us being there we were able to assist him eating his meals, attend therapy sessions and to remind him that when he was seeing the phantoms that they weren’t real. He didn’t get much daytime rest, but slept pretty well at night, he said. He stopped seeing the visions after a day and continued to progress steadily. On the 14th we had a very nice birthday celebration in a conference room down the hall.
Dad has been working hard at walking, but the stroke of over a year ago has affected his balance so that he has to really concentrate on what his legs are doing and not doing. As this all seems to be turning out well it afforded us some time to visit with the entire immediate family (I include Aunt Janet) as Dad keeps improving. Tom and Vickie left on the 15th and I flew out on the 16th. Betsy and Leona left on the weekend so Mom is on full time with Aunt Janet’s support and Larry’s visits on the weekend. We stayed in touch on the phone and via e-mail and reports indicate steady progress. An appointment with the surgeon on the 17th will clear Dad for a return to the apartment before the moon is full on May 19th. Let’s hope so.
On the 2nd of April we reached Marathon and elected to round the point and enter the harbor from the west instead of using Sister Creek because the wind produced a swell that may have had us bouncing the bottom as we entered the creek. When Richard on Tisha Baby reported depths of just four feet we knew we had decided correctly (we draw 4 1/3 ft.) We stayed in Marathon exactly one month.
We had planned to leave the boat on a mooring and surprise my Dad by flying to DC and then going to see him on his birthday on April 14th, but he surprised us by falling and breaking his hip a week before we got to Marathon. I booked a flight for the 5th and Dad had surgery the same day. Barb stayed with the boat. When I got to Springfield that evening brother Tom picked me up at the Metro Station. He and Vickie had arrived from North Carolina the day before. Mom and Vickie were at home at the apartment at Greenspring Village. We poked our heads in Dad’s room to find him sleeping. The nurse said he was recovering okay after surgery so we left. We all (Larry came from DC) saw the doctor the next day and he had written orders to have Dad standing on Sunday(!), but not to expect that to really happen because the PT department is not well staffed on the weekend (there should be a weekend discount then – right?) and that Monday would be a good day to start standing. Meanwhile, Dad was not eating and Mom was worrying. He was still on an I.V. so he was getting fluids and some calories. He didn’t seem to be in pain, but the nurse gave him some pain medication for sleep and the next day Dad was seeing things and talking to people that weren’t there. Luckily, midweek the doctor released him to the skilled nursing facility at Greenspring and we were all happy to see the ambulance arrive five minutes early to make the transfer. I was not impressed with the care at the hospital. They seemed to be interested in mission statements and customer satisfaction instead of basic patient care. It seemed that there were more visits from many staff telling us that Dad was getting good care than there were visits from staff actually giving good care. Giving a man pain medication when he didn’t ask for it isn’t good care. Putting a tray of food on a bedside table out of reach of a man who cannot see what it is and who has dexterity and speech deficits from a previous stroke so he can’t fill a spoon to feed himself lying in bed isn’t good care. We had to struggle at times to understand what was being said by most of the staff. PT never visited him and so he never got out of bed at the hospital. He got through it, however, and Dad arrived at Greenspring’s Renaissance Gardens in one piece. But, he was still seeing and talking to things that weren’t there and we were all concerned. Betsy and Leona arrived from Maine and we all took turns staying with Dad throughout most of everyday leaving him alone to sleep at night. He was actually “working” harder with us there than with his regular routine before the fall. He almost always took a good nap in the afternoons before and he was not doing that now. Now he was getting physical and occupational therapies, eating three meals in the dining room and pretty good overall care. With us being there we were able to assist him eating his meals, attend therapy sessions and to remind him that when he was seeing the phantoms that they weren’t real. He didn’t get much daytime rest, but slept pretty well at night, he said. He stopped seeing the visions after a day and continued to progress steadily. On the 14th we had a very nice birthday celebration in a conference room down the hall.
Dad has been working hard at walking, but the stroke of over a year ago has affected his balance so that he has to really concentrate on what his legs are doing and not doing. As this all seems to be turning out well it afforded us some time to visit with the entire immediate family (I include Aunt Janet) as Dad keeps improving. Tom and Vickie left on the 15th and I flew out on the 16th. Betsy and Leona left on the weekend so Mom is on full time with Aunt Janet’s support and Larry’s visits on the weekend. We stayed in touch on the phone and via e-mail and reports indicate steady progress. An appointment with the surgeon on the 17th will clear Dad for a return to the apartment before the moon is full on May 19th. Let’s hope so. 
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